The Hurlford Proposal
A hyperscale data centre has been proposed on a large area of land near Hurlford, East Ayrshire. This is a large scale industrial development designed to support cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI). ​In the planning documents the proposal is described as a major development. Documents obtained via a FOI request can be viewed here.
The Proposal
In November 2025, the developer (ILI Group) submitted a pre‑application proposal (25/0008/PREAPP) for an AI-focused data centre development just outside Hurlford. The proposal has been 'approved with conditions'.
What we know:​
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Listed capacity of around 540Megawatts
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The scale of the development and associated infrastructure is substantial
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Land control and grid access have already been agreed
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​An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not initially requested
What is included in the
proposal
The pre-application description lists:
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Data hall buildings
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On-site electrical substation
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New road access
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Balancing pond
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Security infrastructure
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Landscaping, trees and wildflower areas
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These form a large industrial complex, not a single building.
Copyright: Ayrshire Major Development Group
the site earmarked for development
How big is it?
The proposed site has a base power capacity of 540 megawatts. To put this in to context:
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Most UK data centres are under 100 megawatts
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540 megawatts is several times larger than many existing facilities
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This figure is before any future expansion
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Size matters! Understanding the scale of the development is essential. A development of this size can affect:
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Water use (for cooling)
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Traffic and access roads
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Landscape, native wildlife and land use
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Potential future expansion.
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Google's data centre
There is no legal definition of a 'Green' Data Centre.
How does this align with 'Net Zero'?
The data centre planned in Irvine will have an energy demand of 1GW, this is the equivalent of twice the maximum output of the UK’s largest onshore windfarm, Whitelees.